Report: 51% of homeowners not positioned to sell

According to a new report from Redfin, a Seattle-based real estate brokerage, 51% of homeowners are unlikely to sell their homes anytime soon. That means just under half -- 49% -- are in a financial position to sell their homes.

Of the 51%, 19% say their homes have low equity, 16% are locked in historically low mortgage rates, 14% were purchased less than seven years ago and 3% are owned by companies and investors who are holding tight for capital appreciation and rental income.

Based on Redfin's data, the tight inventory is leading to intense home-buying competition. In March, 63.4% of offers written by Redfin agents across 19 markets faced competition from other buyers, compared to 58.7% in February. That said, the rate peaked in March of 2013 at 73.4%.

“Competition can still get intense, but because prices have risen so much, my clients and I try to be more discerning about how far we should go to win a home,” said Minni MacFarlane, a Redfin agent in Orange County, Calif. “The past two years we’d compete against people camping out in their cars or entering lotteries to win new homes. This year, a bidding war is more likely to drive the price of a home higher than it’s worth competing for, and I think it will be easier for us to walk away from a situation like that.”